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| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
TM
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
TM
Military Navigator and Pilot
I have always loved the sky and the military. Even though I lived in the inner-
city and we did not have a lot of money, I got my parents to get me a kid
telescope and had my eyes peeled to the stars each and every night. I also
studied, by third grade, military history like Battle of the Bulge so I think I
was wired from birth to be in the military. It was not, however, till midway
through college (and I had already joined the Air Force as an enlisted Ground
Radio Operator) that I worked up the courage to fly in those skies.
I, no kidding, did not know nor was taught that women flew (I had not even
heard of Amelia Earhart!). I worked hard, saved my money, and got my
private pilot’s license. I later applied for and was selected as the first female
navigator at the Youngstown Air Reserve Base in my home state of Ohio. I
felt like I had been crowned a queen! I had been in love with the C-130 when
I was enlisted and now to think I would be navigating it across the globe was
an exhilarating thought! I was thankful to God for this opportunity as it
fulfilled me personally as I knew I was doing what I was born to do. That
feeling, to be getting paid to do a job that you absolutely have a passion for
was huge to me, as I would have done that beloved job for free (honestly!)!
Especially because I love my country!
I have had many adventures from Antarctica to war zones and where ever I
flew I always flew with a piece of paper that reflected my life endeavors,
summed up and written by Dr. Martin Luther King, which said:
These are the greatest words of wisdom from not only one of the best
citizens America has had but a preacher from our Lord: words that should
not be forgotten, that I feel not only my little children I now have should
know and memorize, but that all have as a beacon that I think Dr. King
wanted those words to be. Be the best you can be, no matter where you are
or the circumstances, never compromise who you are, and trust in God, His
Son, and His Word. Finally, reach to those skies, GO FOR IT! There is
nothing Earth-bound like it!
I have always loved the sky and the military. Even though I lived in the inner-
city and we did not have a lot of money, I got my parents to get me a kid
telescope and had my eyes peeled to the stars each and every night. I also
studied, by third grade, military history like Battle of the Bulge so I think I
was wired from birth to be in the military. It was not, however, till midway
through college (and I had already joined the Air Force as an enlisted Ground
Radio Operator) that I worked up the courage to fly in those skies.
I, no kidding, did not know nor was taught that women flew (I had not even
heard of Amelia Earhart!). I worked hard, saved my money, and got my
private pilot’s license. I later applied for and was selected as the first female
navigator at the Youngstown Air Reserve Base in my home state of Ohio. I
felt like I had been crowned a queen! I had been in love with the C-130 when
I was enlisted and now to think I would be navigating it across the globe was
an exhilarating thought! I was thankful to God for this opportunity as it
fulfilled me personally as I knew I was doing what I was born to do. That
feeling, to be getting paid to do a job that you absolutely have a passion for
was huge to me, as I would have done that beloved job for free (honestly!)!
Especially because I love my country!
I have had many adventures from Antarctica to war zones and where ever I
flew I always flew with a piece of paper that reflected my life endeavors,
summed up and written by Dr. Martin Luther King, which said:
- If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like
Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed
music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan
Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so
well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say:
Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.
These are the greatest words of wisdom from not only one of the best
citizens America has had but a preacher from our Lord: words that should
not be forgotten, that I feel not only my little children I now have should
know and memorize, but that all have as a beacon that I think Dr. King
wanted those words to be. Be the best you can be, no matter where you are
or the circumstances, never compromise who you are, and trust in God, His
Son, and His Word. Finally, reach to those skies, GO FOR IT! There is
nothing Earth-bound like it!
| Sheila is the editor of Penelope's Page! |
| Reading a Penelope Pilot book during a talk about navigators |